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Sunday, December 21, 2014

Microsoft Removes All Third Party Snapchat Apps From The Windows Phone Store

Snapchat confirmed in November that it would crack down on all third party apps, and now the ax has fallen on the Windows Phone app store, which no longer contains any third party apps as Windows Central reports.

The U.S. company doesn’t have an official app for Windows Phone, so that means anyone who owns a phone running the Microsoft OS can’t download a Snapchat compatible app. Those that already have one — such as 6snap, the most popular option — are also having their accounts locked for using a third-party app. That’s another security measure that Snapchat promised last month to implement.

Tweets from Rudy Huyn, who developed 6snap, suggest that Snapchat itself has instructed Microsoft to remove the apps, but we contacted both companies to confirm that.

Huyn said he will “work closely with Microsoft now to convince Snapchat to change its mind,” but the U.S. company is taking a zero tolerance approach to third party apps after two of them were blamed for leaking millions of users’ IDs and passwords.

The ban on third parties may not last for too long, however. We know that Snapchat is working on building a mobile messaging platform, and that could mean that it finally releases an official API to allow third parties to connect to its service while providing increased protection for user privacy.

That said, the company recently introduced video advertising so keeping its service free of third party apps on all devices gives it absolute control over targeting its user base with ads, thus potentially maximizing its value to advertisers.

None of this means much for Snapchat fans on Windows Phone, who have never had an official app and now don’t even have unofficial ones. Such are the problems of being a ‘third’ platform in today’s iOS-Android dominated world.